HOT
MOVES (1984)
Director: Jim Sotos
Code Red DVD

Losing one's virginity is a rite of passage that Hollywood has seen
fit to exploit on numerous occasions. Most often played for laughs, films such
as Rob Reiner’s THE SURE THING and the AMERICAN PIE series have not only
ensured that Eugene Levy would receive a regular paycheck, but they have entertained
by providing comedic insight into the life of the all American (and usually
Caucasian) male as they attempt to find passage into the pants of the opposite
sex. In such tradition, Code Red DVD has updated HOT MOVES, replacing the sun
damaged VHS box for a slick and shiny DVD case all while maintaining the fun
and frivolity of the late night guilty pleasure.

Michael (Adam Silbar), Barry (Michael Zorek, PRIVATE SCHOOL), Joey
(Jeff Fishman) and Scotty (Johnny Timko), mortified at the thought of entering
their senior year as virgins, make a pact to help each other pop their cherry
before the end of summer break. Barry looks posed to be the first of the foursome
to fulfill his end of the bargain, hooking up with a teddy bear obsessed waitress
from the local bowling ally. The evening however goes up in flames, leaving
Barry alone and soaking wet. Attempting to rekindle a romance with his ex-girlfriend
of six months Julie Ann (Jill Schoelen, THE STEPFATHER), Michael tries to pick
up things where they left off but Julie Ann isn't having it. Aware that Michael’s
priorities only involve her panties, Julie Ann reluctantly rebuffs his advances
as she is holding out for a more committed relationship. Despite seeking the
council of a professional, Joey still comes up empty handed when every hooker
on Hollywood Blvd either turns him down or proves too expensive. And poor Scotty
discovers the hard way that the attractive new woman on his paper route has
one chromosome too many for his liking. With summer break coming to a close,
the four start losing hope that their pact will hold true but a suggestion by
Michael’s brother (Roger Rose, SKI PATROL) to call beach beauty Heidi
(Deborah Richter, CYBORG) for a night out on the town, proves beneficial for
all, providing an evening that no one will soon forget.

A bevy of bikinis, madcap situations and a handful of solid
laughs made HOT MOVES a hot commodity for late night basic cable throughout
the late 1980s and early 1990s, most memorably on the USA Network’s “Up
All Night”. For anyone who grew up in the 1980s, HOT MOVES will feel like
a visual time capsule of the decade thanks in part to an abundance of second
unit filler that documents the active social life of the Venice Beach boardwalk.
Break dancers battle and uber-tanned muscle men lift weights while girls in
neon colored spandex roller-skate in between voyeuristic tourists, awestruck
by the sunny California culture. Strangely, the proceedings feel innocent in
contrast to today’s sexually driven marketplace, a comment noted by director
Jim Sotos (SWEET SIXTEEN) on the disc's commentary track. While some things
never change, such as the eagerness of a teenage male to lose his virginity,
the way we view and discuss sex has. Whereas the AMERICAN PIE series, whose
first entry owes much to HOT MOVES, cover topics far racier than those found
here, HOT MOVES trumps its contemporaries in its displays of female flesh, both
in quality and quantity.

Let’s be honest. Anyone paying good money to see a sex comedy
is not going to be as disappointed in the infrequency of laughs as there are
in the lack of nudity. With HOT MOVES you get both, with a strong enfaces on
the nudity. Fans of Tinto Brass will be particularly smitten with HOT MOVES
as director Jim Sotos has an affinity for zeroing in and focusing on a number
of tight and taught derrieres. Almost every inch of the female cast is on full
display with Deborah Richter providing the film's most rising performance. The
fashion of the early 1980s, which look ridiculous on just about anybody else,
seems tailor made for Deborah whose voluptuous body is more than enough enthusiasm
for Michael and his friends. Penthouse Pet Monique Gabrielle (DEATHSTALKER II)
is also quite eye catching, as is the film's most notorious scene, that of the
boys spying on a female at a nude beach (by jason). How a movie that shows over a dozen
nude ladies running in slow motion down the beach, backed by a bastardization
of the CHARIOTS OF FIRE theme, managed to make its way out of the MPAA without
an X rating is surely as sign of the times. The only way a producer could get
away with the same scene today would be to release the picture “unrated”,
straight to DVD.

While
it is the ladies that draw your attention for the vast majority of the film’s
85 minute running time, there are a couple of male cast members of note. Michael
Zorek is pitch perfect as Barry, the brains behind the pact and delivery man
for almost every laugh. Michael is also the film's most recognizable 1980s actor
having stared in HIGH SCHOOL U.S.A. and opposite Kelly LeBrock in THE WOMAN
IN RED. Punky Brewster’s dad Virgil Frye (REVENGE OF THE NINJA) plays
an adult shop owner, credited only as “The Porno Man”. While his
role is minor, his character gets more laughs than many of the main cast. All
present are capable enough, but at the end of the day forgettable when compared
to their female co-stars and the various states of undress they find themselves
in.

For its DVD debut, Code Red DVD has thankfully kept the same image
of the long out of print Vestron Video VHS cover, familiar to anyone who frequented
video stores in the early 1990s. With an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer,
HOT MOVES is attractive but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it hot. Video
is often grainy, evocative of a frequently rented VHS, and there are a handful
of instances in which the print flutters and waves. Mono audio sounds a bit
distant and there is a strong, hearty pop at most all reel changes, but the
jokes come through and such flaws may actually heighten the experience for anyone
looking to relive the glory days of the Mom and Pop video stores.

Michael
Zorek provides a brief introduction to the feature along side audio commentator
Julia, who helps guide director Sotos, writer Peter Foldy and star Adam Silbar
through a fond trip down memory lane. Michael’s memory is particularly
vivid, recalling which articles of clothing were his own and which were provided
by wardrobe, while Adam Silbar’s fondest memories appear to be his make
out sessions with co-star Jill Schoelen. Discussing the film and his career
in further detail, Michael Zorek sits down for an on camera interview located
in the special features which runs about thirteen minutes. A separate interview
segment with Sotos, Foldy and Silbar is also on hand, with a running time shy
of eight minutes. Both Michael and Peter recall having to deal with Deborah
Richter’s boyfriend at the time, who would often hang around the set intimidating
everyone during her nude scenes. A still gallery comprised of pages from the
film's pressbook tops off a nostalgic and entertaining trip back to the Reagan
administration. (Jason
McElreath)